Prosecutors Dismiss 'Na Kyung-won Son Thesis Allegation' Without Charges

by Bae Kyunghwan

Published 21 Dec.2020 11:15(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution has decided not to indict Kim Mo, the son of former Future United Party (now People Power Party) lawmaker Na Kyung-won, on allegations that he was improperly listed as the first author on a research presentation paper at Seoul National University College of Medicine during his high school years.

According to the prosecution on the 21st, the Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Byung-seok) dismissed the allegations of the former lawmaker's son being listed as the first author on a poster the day before.

Na's son interned at a laboratory in Seoul National University College of Medicine in 2014 while still in high school, and the following year, he was listed as the first author on a biomedical engineering poster presented at an international academic conference. Subsequently, suspicions arose that there might have been preferential treatment in the process of listing Na's son as the first author. In response, civic groups have filed complaints with the prosecution and police more than ten times since September last year, alleging his son's fraudulent university admission, privatization of Special Olympics Korea, and suspicions of corruption at Heungsin Academy.

However, the prosecution found insufficient evidence regarding the first author listing allegations and decided not to indict. Regarding the allegations related to Kim's listing as the fourth author, the prosecution has suspended prosecution temporarily until the results of criminal judicial cooperation arrive. Temporary suspension of prosecution is a decision to pause or hold investigations temporarily when expert evaluation is needed in cases such as medical or traffic accidents or accounting-related incidents, and then resume investigations after reviewing the evaluation results.